Why Does Dolly Parton Wear Long Sleeves?

Why does Dolly Parton only wear long sleeves?

Introduction

In the world of the entertainment industry, and in the music sphere specifically, only a few artists have left an indent that will never go away.

Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, and in the country genre, it’s Dolly Parton.

She’s that kind and welcoming singer with big blonde hair and a gentle vibe that we’ve all come to love since she burst into the scene during the early 70s.

And today, not only is she known for her smashing musical success but also for her charity efforts for people around the world.

In this article, we’ll talk about Dolly’s personal life in the deep south of the USA and her impressive career at the top of the country music industry.

Then, we’ll also discuss some of her biggest quirks, like why she’s always seen wearing long sleeve tops.

The Origin Story

Dolly Parton is an award-winning songwriter, singer, author, philanthropist, and actress from the United States.

Known for her success in the country music industry specifically, she first made a name writing songs for others before she took her skills and built her own singing career.

Dolly is also greatly known for her philanthropic efforts, which have been a large part of her life since the 1980s.

Her biggest area of interest is literacy, which might have something to do with her father being illiterate.

While that didn’t stop him from teaching his daughter incredibly valuable lessons when it came to business, it was something he carried with him in the end. And so, this is a cause that’s always been close to Dolly’s heart.   

She has her own foundation called the Dollywood Foundation, through which she runs her literacy program under the name Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Through it, she is able to mail one book per month to every single child that enrolls in the program.

They receive said books from the day they’re born until their first day of kindergarten.

To date, they have donated over 100 million books across five English-speaking countries around the world. 

Her Personal Life

Dolly Parton was born Dolly Rebecca Parton in January 1946. A native of the United States, she grew up in a small town in Tennessee.

In total, her parents had 12 children, of which Dolly was the fourth oldest.

While not well off by any means, both her parents showered her in knowledge and love.

Her father taught her all he knew about business (even though his jobs were mostly blue-collar ones), and her mother gifting her with her love of music.

Her family was very religious and devout Pentecostals.

Because they went to church every week, this is where Dolly had her first brushes with being a performing artist.

At 6 years old, she was already singing in the church choir. Shortly after that, at 7 years old, she picked up her first guitar.

In 1964, after graduating high school, she moved to Tennessee to start her career in music.

The vast majority of her first few songs all talked about her experience growing up poor and in the deep south. 

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Her Career

Dolly’s career in music started at a very young age.

Before she was 10 years old, she was already performing at local radio and TV shows in her home state of Tennessee.

A few years later, at 13, she was able to record her first song titled “Puppy Love,” which allowed her to perform at a well-known country music concert.

While there, she met Johnny Cash.

Her encounter with him, and his words of encouragement, were instrumental in helping her decide that music was her life’s calling.

She moved to Nashville fresh out of high school and got her first job in the industry as a songwriter.

At 19 years old, she signed with Monument Records in order to jump-start her own artistic journey.

While the label initially insisted she be promoted within the pop genre, Dolly was eventually able to convince them that country was more suitable for her.

This was thanks to a song she wrote called “Put It Off Until Tomorrow,” which was performed by country singer Bill Phillips.

The song charted at the number six spot in country music charting, and the rest is history. 

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Why does Dolly Parton wear long sleeves?

So, why does Dolly Parton wear long sleeves? One of Dolly’s biggest quirks is the fact that she can always be seen wearing gloves and long sleeve tops. Rarely have her fans ever seen her without both of these clothing items during public appearances. But the reason why she does this might surprise you. Dolly suffers from something called keloid scar tissue.

It’s not a sickness per se, but it makes reference to her body producing too much scar tissue any time she gets hurt.

She’s been quoted saying that she has lots of scars on her arms that, because of the keloid tissue, leaves visible marks and bumps.

To cover those up, she has gotten several tattoos on her arms throughout the years.

”My tattoos are pretty, they’re artful, and they usually started out to cover some scar,” Parton told Today. She added: ”I’m so fair that scars turn purple on me.”

The gloves and long sleeves are to cover them since she doesn’t want people focusing on or discussing her tattoos.

It’s more important for her that they focus on her music and charity efforts.

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